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FUEL COST CRISIS * USA - Independent truckers daunted by increasing costs and freight rates
* Steady as he goes - “Don’t give up the ship. Fight her till she sinks.” - Capt. James Lawrence, U.S.S. Chesapeake
USA -FleetOwner -April 22, 2008: -- I’ve seen the same grim, steely determination that no doubt infused Capt. Lawrence and his crew as they faced the HMS Shannon in battle on the high seas in 1813 reflected in the eyes and words of many owner-operators I talk to nowadays. With the U.S. national average for diesel fuel at $4.21 a gallon, fuel surcharges hard to come by, and lackluster freight demand, many are fighting hard just to survive, much less eke out a profit at the end of each week... Robert Zuckerman, a veteran owner-operator operating from (of all places!!!) Rhode Island about the challenges facing independent truckers like himself these days. “There’s two ways to look at the business these days: either you tough it out or get out of it”...
“How do you survive? You need to make smart business decisions and pay attention to the small stuff,” Zuckerman said... (Photo: Robert Zuckerman, posed in front of his rig)* Foolish consolation: Research report said "more bankruptcies could eventually push freight rates up for the survivors"
Asbury Park,NJ,USA -AP/The Asbury Park Press, by ELLEN SIMON -April 21, 2008: -- About nine percent of the nation's 3.4 million truck drivers are independent owner-operators, according to the Department of Labor. Without the independents, trucking will turn into a group of "regional and national oligopolies" that would send shipping prices higher when the economy improves, said John Saldanha, who teaches logistics at Ohio State University... Trucker Robert Griffith is on the road three weeks out of four, pulling oversize loads. As the cost of diesel doubled over the last four years, his take-home pay has plummeted, from $50,000 to $11,000 last year. He's literally burning money; he spent $64,000 on diesel in the last eight months. Since he canceled his satellite radio, he's on citizens band radio constantly (handle: Instigator) talking about what needs to change so truckers like him can survive... No more $150 family outings to Shogun sushi. No more weekly washes for his Western Star 4900 EX truck. No more health insurance for him and his family... Trucking's owner-operators, the self-employed drivers who haul everything from Hummers to hay, are suffering. Many say they're running on the edge of bankruptcy, about to disappear unless they get help. While a wave of trucking failures now might be invisible to consumers, when the economy rebounds, it would push up shipping rates, helping increase prices... A Baird & Co. research report said the one positive note is the likelihood of more bankruptcies could eventually push freight rates up for the survivors... Nanette Jenkins Rudd, 40, a third-generation trucker based in Mapleton, Ill., is hoping for government help. "The government stepped in and helped the farmers when they were in trouble," she said. "Why? Because the farmers feed America, the farmers put food on the table. But who do you think delivers that food?"... (AP PHOTO: Robert Griffith stops at a truck stop in Platte City, Mo. Trucking's owner-operators, the self-employed drivers who haul everything from Hummers to hay, are suffering)* $4 diesel prices squeeze truckers, others - "Honestly, I think it's the biggest looming issue we've got"
Billings,MT,USA -The Billings Gazette, by TOM LUTEY -20 April 2008: -- ... The subprime mortgage crisis dominates the headlines, but the cost of products rising because of energy prices is a sleeping giant, said Patricia Edwards, a retail analyst Wentworth, Hauser & Violich Investment Counsel."Honestly, I think it's the biggest looming issue we've got" Edwards said... Edwards, who on a national scale tracks everything from supermarkets to mall clothing outlets, said even retail giants like Wal-Mart and Costco are starting to worry about fuel prices... Suppliers are worried that they could end up losing money on orders placed today that won't ship until months later... Food costs are rising. An American Farm Bureau Federation price survey for basic supermarket items like corn, meat, milk and mayonnaise indicates an 8 percent jump in price for the kind of stuff most people buy. The survey was done in the year's first three months and indicates that the average cost for 16 essential items went up $3.42 since 2007. That increase is more than the 4.5 percent increase in food costs this year, as predicted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which takes more products into account... Diesel is a big contributor to the rising cost of food, said Ephraim Leibtag, a USDA research economist... FedEx and UPS charge a 6.25 percent surcharge for ground service, a fee linked to the average U.S. price for a gallon of diesel fuel. Contractors face fuel surcharges whenever products are delivered to the job. JTL Group now adds $20 to the cost of every load of concrete or gravel delivered in the Billings area, said Dan Ottman, who tracks fuel costs for JTL Billings... Smaller, independent trucking firms are having a much harder time adjusting to diesel costs, partly because they don't have the negotiating power to get the surcharge they need, said Barry "Spook" Stang, of the Montana Motor Carriers Association... (Photo by DAVID GRUBBS/Gazette Staff - Jeff Foley, director of maintenance at Diversified Transfer and Storage, fuels a tractor-trailer rig Friday. Higher diesel fuel prices have meant more than a $1 million increase in expenses for the company annually)* YOU TOO Mss/Mr...!!! With gas hitting record highs, drivers feeling squeezed
New York,NY,USA -The Associated Press, by ADAM SCHRECK -22 April 2008: -- Cabbies here complain their take-home pay is thinner than it used to be. Trucking companies across the country are making drivers slow down to conserve fuel. Filling station owners plead that really, really, the skyrocketing prices aren't their fault... And the rest of us? With gas prices now averaging $3.50 a gallon nationwide, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service, more and more Americans who have to drive are weighing the need for each and every trip... AAA figures show California has higher prices than anywhere in the country, with regular now selling for an average of $3.86 a gallon... Diesel prices are rising even higher than gasoline, putting pressure on trucking and other shipping companies that use the fuel to transport goods around the country... The American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello said fuel has now surpassed labor as the trucking industry's biggest cost, prompting some companies to install devices that prevent drivers from speeding. Companies are also shelling out for auxiliary power units and offering bonuses to drivers who cut down on idling and operate their trucks more efficiently... "Every little bit helps," he said... (AP Photo, by Eric Risberg - Motorists pass a pair of gas stations in Mill Valley, Calif., Monday, April 21, 2008. Rising gasoline prices tightened the squeeze on drivers Monday, jumping to an average $3.50 a gallon at filling stations across the country)Labels: fuel cost troubles
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